The Denver Broncos Are Facing a Devastating COVID-19 Problem
If you were looking forward to a Drew Lock vs. Drew Brees matchup Sunday, you’re not even in the ballpark. The Denver Broncos host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday and it may have been an interesting battle of the Drews at quarterback. Instead, Brees is out with broken ribs and the coronavirus (COVID-19) just wiped away every single one of the Broncos quarterbacks.
COVID-19 continues to mess with the NFL
Welcome to the NFL in 2020. While no games to date have been canceled due to COVID-19, it sure looks like that may change. If not canceled, the NFL is going to have to get very creative and find new ways to keep 16 games a possibility for every team.
COVID-19 has already forced the league to do some heavy reshuffling of the schedule. Twice, the league has had to move a game to a rare Tuesday night, including this week’s Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers game. That game, originally scheduled as the prime-time Thanksgiving game, was pushed back to Sunday because of an outbreak within the Ravens organization. As more positive tests popped up, the game was pushed back even further, to Tuesday.
With COVID-19 spikes happening throughout the country, the NFL has to be ready to make some significant changes to the schedule if it wants to complete the season. The NFL has issued a memo to teams, saying there can be no in-person activities on Monday and Tuesday. The activity ban excludes the four teams who are playing Monday and Tuesday night.
The Denver Broncos just got hit hard
What are the Denver Broncos supposed to do? All of their quarterbacks have been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints. Backup quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive for the virus on Thursday and the remaining quarterbacks are ineligible to play because they were close contacts with Driskel, according to ESPN.
Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles were all told to leave practice on Saturday. They were told to isolate at home after contact-tracing concerns had arisen, sources told ESPN. The three were discovered to have not worn masks at one point during contact with Driskel. Running back Royce Freeman has been the team’s emergency quarterback.
The Broncos have said they won’t be forfeiting their game Sunday. Tight end Noah Fant, however, doesn’t see how the team can play without a quarterback. “I’m not one to complain, but @NFL y’all can’t possibly send us into a game without a QB,” Fant wrote on Twitter. “The most important position to an offense. We don’t even got a backup….”
Some of the Broncos are finding humor in the situation
If the NFL forces the Denver Broncos to play Sunday’s game without a quarterback, it could be very interesting. There have been several Broncos trying to find humor in the situation. Veteran linebacker Von Miller, out with an ankle injury, said he could fill in at quarterback as Von Elway.
“Been waiting my whole life for this moment! “Von ELWAY”. Ima passing QB don’t need to run much! Ankle is good for QB,” Miller wrote on Twitter.
Rookie wide receiver Jerry Jeudy said he might have to fill in and do his best Lamar Jackson impression. “Guess ima have to get my Lamar Jackson on,” Jeudy wrote on Twitter.
